


Rekindled

by JuniperLeo



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 07:46:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16970616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuniperLeo/pseuds/JuniperLeo
Summary: Taeil was boring, he once harbored dreams of becoming a musician or a singer, somehow he ended up as a salesman at a small paper company, he hated it. Taeil had long since lost his passion for music and his life was lived day to day with no interests or happiness, that all changed when a new salesman showed up at work one day.





	Rekindled

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fan fiction and I really hope that you guys enjoy it, English is not my first language so please read this with a grain of salt. Yes, this was mildly inspired by "The Office", mainly they work at a small paper company and are salespeople. Anyway I really hope you enjoy this, feedback is always welcome (:

Moon Taeil was a grouch. Taeil had worked in an office job for seven years and had grown accustomed to his simple 9 to 5 routine, and he liked it, or at the very least he liked the routine. He didn’t have friends outside of his work acquaintances and his small dingy apartment barely showed signs of life.Taeil had a simple routine, and his personal life was nonexistent. Working at a small paper company in a small town had very little benefits, at least he was away from the big cities and the overbearing large masses of people. Moon Taeil really wasn’t happy with his life, when he was younger he had dreams of becoming a singer, or a songwriter, or maybe a pianist, ending up at a paper company was not in his cards; or maybe becoming a paper salesman for a small company was actually all he was supposed to be in life, Taeil really couldn’t find it in himself to reminisce or dwell on who or what he wanted to become. Sometimes when he had made a big sale and he would go out for drinks with some colleagues to celebrate Taeil would let himself reminisce on his past dreams, he would indulge himself on the fantasy of being a singer or playing the piano for small venues, small crowds of people chatting amicably while he played the piano as background music, a small wistful smile would grace his lips as he indulged himself on past fantasies. The truth was that music was the only thing Taeil was passionate about, when Taeil first took a job at a paper company he had told himself it was just temporary, just something to pay the bills until he could get more recognition for his music, that time never came. As years went by the piano in his apartment was played less and less frequently until it had garnered a thick layer of dust, Taeil couldn’t bring himself to clean it, he was scared to touch it, scared of all the memories it would bring back. Taeil’s small barstool fantasies would always be broken by loud chatter from Johnny and Mark, he wondered what their past dreams were, surely they wouldn’t have moved all the way to Korea when they were younger just to work at a paper company. As Taeil snapped back to reality and took in the small bar and his friends faces Taeil couldn’t help but wonder how his life ended up like this, where did it go wrong for him?   
Taeil would always be the first one to leave the group outings, brushing away Johnny’s complaints about how he “needed to loosen up” or Mark’s remarks on how “they had just made a huge sale, just celebrate with one drink, please Hyung” with a simple “it’s getting late I really should be heading home”. Taeil knew he was a bit of a buzzkill but once he’d stopped playing music he had lost all of his passion, the dirty bar only served as a reminder of how different his current life is from what he hd wanted. Taeil’s life really was just a day to day event and he couldn’t find it in himself to stay in places that only served to remind him of his failures, after all he had already indulged Mark and Johnny by going out with them for drinks in the first place.

——

The next Monday, Taeil came into work at 8:45, he could already see Johnny planning a prank to pull on their coworker Doyoung. Doyoung’s pissed reactions to Johnny’s elaborate pranks always brightened the office up, even just for a little bit. Taeil could see his boss Taeyong walking in and getting settled in the next room, he also was talking to a guy he had never seen before.   
“Is that the new guy?” Mark asked Johnny in a hushed whisper. Taeil listened in to their conversation and recalled that Taeyong had told them last week that because of the large amount of Chinese markets moving to Korea that he was going to hire a new salesman who would be fluent in Chinese. Apparently this new hire would help their company gain access to more clients, Taeil had thought it was stupid, if you move a company to Korea you should learn Korean, but obviously Taeil was not in charge of these situations. The man in Taeyong’s office was slim, a little too skinny but he appeared to have a graceful aura about him. The man was seated very rigidly in one of Taeyong’s chairs and he kept scratching his head, Taeil couldn’t help but observe how nervous and unsure of himself he looked. To caught up in his observations Taeil didn’t notice that the man and Taeyong had moved and were now standing in front of the office until Taeyong’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Taeyong’s introduction had told Taeil that the man was Chinese, his name was Sicheng and he was still learning Korean. Taeil observed how nervous Sicheng looked, his cheeks were tainted with a faint hint of pink, and for the first time in years Taeil had found something kind of remotely endearing.

——

A couple of weeks had gone by and nothing had changed in Taeil’s routine. The new guy fit in well, the entire office had jumped to help him settle in and make friends, and while Sicheng was still shy and unsure of himself he had started to open up to the rest of the office more and was getting into the routine of the workplace. Taeil hadn’t really payed much attention to Sicheng since the first day when he was introduced, Taeil preferred to keep to himself and based off of the fact that Sicheng never talked to anyone unless they initiated the conversation apparently Sicheng did too. Taeil and Sicheng had small conversations during lunch breaks or on the walk to the parking lot. It wasn’t until about two months after Sicheng had started working at their company that Taeyong had called Taeil in and told him about a new client opening that had the potential to be a big sale for the company. Taeyong informed Taeil that he wanted him to go on the sales call later that day, it wasn’t until Taeil had agreed that Taeyong had informed him that the client was Chinese and that Taeil would need to bring Sicheng with him. That was how Taeil found himself sitting in a large extravagant office listening to Sicheng and the client speaking in rapid Chinese. Taeil was beginning to think that the only reason Taeyong asked him to go with Sicheng was because Sicheng hadn’t gotten his Korean driving license yet and he needed someone to drive him. Taeil didn’t mind though, the drive had been nice and Sicheng didn’t attempt to talk to him more than necessary. That was one reason Taeil hated going on sales calls with Johnny or Mark, he hated their ceaseless chatter and continued attempts at conversation. Sicheng suddenly stood up and Taeil snapped back to reality and quickly stood up as well. Based off of Sicheng’s bright smile Taeil figured that he had closed the sale, and Taeil found himself dreading the return to the office where Johnny would demand everyone go out for drinks to celebrate. Sicheng and Taeil exited the office and Taeil found himself staring at Sicheng’s bright smile for a split second too long. Weird. The duo were about 20 minutes into the drive back when Taeil’s stomach let out a growl, unfortunately the meeting with the client had taken place around lunch and Taeil and Sicheng both hadn’t eaten.   
“Hungry?” Sicheng asked, two months on and Taeil was still taken by surprise by how deep Sicheng’s voice was in comparison to his cute appearance. Taeil simply answered with a quiet “yeah” mumbled underneath his breath. If it were Johnny or Mark they would’ve demanded to stop for food but Sicheng just left the conversation at that, Taeil was thankful he didn’t push on the topic. It wasn’t until Taeil’s stomach growled for a second time that Taeil suggested they stop somewhere for lunch, Sicheng just nodded in agreement.  
“Do you have any place in mind where you’d like to eat?” Taeil figured since Sicheng was the one who’d made the sale he should get to pick the place to eat. Sicheng quietly fiddled with his hands for a couple moments. Taeil mentally berated himself, Sicheng had only lived here for a couple months and they were a half hour away from the city they lived in, of course Sicheng wouldn’t know a place to eat.  
“Do you know any restaurants that have hotpot?” Sicheng gave a quick hopeful glance at Taeil. Taeil racked his brain and finally thought of one nearby restaurant that might have hotpot, he wasn’t certain but he hoped they did. Ten minutes later they pulled into a small restaurant located on a freeway exit, the place looked shabby and run down and Taeil couldn’t even tell if it was open. Taeil seriously doubted the quality of food here and wondered whether or not they should just drive back to the office and stop off at a one of the restaurant’s that Taeil actually knew, but Sicheng had jumped out of the car and ran to the entrance before Taeil could even think of suggesting the idea. Sitting frozen in his seat Taeil watched as Sicheng disappeared into the restaurant and quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and followed him. The restaurant was dark and it took a couple seconds for Taeil’s eyes to adjust to the lighting, he wandered around looking for Sicheng before he found him seated in the very back corner at a small table. Taeil had barely just sat down when Sicheng looked up at him.  
“Is it ok if I order Sichuan hotpot and we share it?” Taeil found himself looking straight into big and eager eyes, unable to tear his eyes away and unable to speak Taeil simply nodded. Sicheng broke into a wide grin before calling the waiter over. Taeil and Sicheng made some small talk while waiting for the food to arrive, unlike usual Taeil found himself initiating the conversation, and he hung off of every word that Sicheng said. Taeil asked about his life story, what made Sicheng come to Korea, and Sicheng asked him about his family, and what plans Taeil had for the future. Taeil couldn’t remember the last time he’d spoken so much to anyone. The arrival of the hotpot interrupted their conversation and Sicheng’s wide eyes and eager expression might just have been one of the cutest thing’s Taeil had seen. Taeil wasn’t sure what made him, a 27 year old man, find this 24 year old man so cute, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away. It wasn’t until Sicheng had already began eating that Taeil snapped out of his thoughts. Lunch was filled with laughter, as Taeil found himself recounting dumb stories to Sicheng about how he almost choked on an ice cube in college. Taeil hadn’t opened up to anyone in a long time, not even Mark and Johnny knew about these stories, but watching Sicheng throw his head back in laughter was worth it and Taeil found himself scrambling to remember more stories and recount them to his new friend.

——

Upon their return to the office Sicheng was bombarded with compliments for closing his first sale and for landing such a big client; Taeil stood off to the side, a small smile gracing his lips as he noticed Sicheng’s embarrassed and happy smiles.   
“We should go out and get drinks tonight, Sicheng you deserve it bro” Mark said. Sicheng seemed on the fence about it but Johnny explained how it would be a good opportunity to get to know the area better and to socialize with the office, Sicheng agreed. So after work Taeil found himself driving to the small beat up bar, and for the first time since college he found himself pushing the speed limit in an attempt to get there faster. It was now 10 P.M and while it wasn’t admittedly that late Taeil had found himself worn out from the public interaction and longed to be in his bed. Taeil had sipped on a single beer the entire night and had managed to stay pretty sober, Sicheng on the other hand was pretty tipsy. It turns out that Taeil wasn’t the only one who found Sicheng endearing and the entire office had bought Sicheng drinks throughout the night as it seemed the drunker Sicheng got, the cuter he became. Taeil had been mostly by himself the entire night and was free to observe the growing chaos of drunk Mark and Johnny, and he knew he would be leaving soon. While observing Mark and Johnny’s drunk rendition of “Night Changes” Taeil had failed to notice Sicheng come and sit in the free seat next to him.  
“Are you leaving?” Taeil couldn’t help but notice how much more pronounced Sicheng’s Chinese accent was when he was tipsy and for the thousandth time in the past two months Taeil wondered how someone could be so cute.   
“Yeah, I don’t think I’m capable of listening to Johnny butcher any more One Direction songs” Taeil answered. The laughter that left Sicheng’s mouth almost made Taeil reconsider leaving and Taeil found himself staring. Sicheng and Taeil observed Johnny and Mark for a little while longer before Sicheng pulled out his phone, Taeil didn’t want to snoop or seem creepy but the Uber logo flashing on Sicheng’s phone was hard to ignore.  
“Hey I can give you a ride to your house if you want, I’m sober and I really don’t mind”  
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want for you to go out of your way” Sicheng seemed wary of the idea and Taeil found himself standing up and grabbing Sicheng’s hand before leading him to the parking lot. As it turns out Sicheng only lived one block away from Taeil and before Taeil even thought about it he offered to let Sicheng carpool with him to work so that he wouldn’t have to wake up so early to catch the bus. Taeil really wasn’t sure what came over him when he’d offered it and he was surprised to hear Sicheng actually agree, but nevertheless he was happy that he did. And so Taeil watched Sicheng disappear into his apartment building and once he was sure he was safe inside Taeil drove off, a small smile on his lips. 

——

Taeil pulled up to Sicheng’s apartment like usual and smiled when he saw Sicheng walking towards his car.   
“Which one do you want? I have blueberry and chocolate chip” Taeil and Sicheng had been carpooling for about a month now and Sicheng had initially offered Taeil gas money as a way to thank him for driving him but Taeil had refused. Sicheng’s place was already on Taeil’s route to work so he really wasn’t using any more gas than usual. Sicheng had insisted on paying Taeil back but Taeil always refused, and so one morning Taeil had pulled up to Sicheng’s apartment to find him waiting with a cup of coffee and two breakfast pastries. Since then, every morning without fail Sicheng would bring Taeil breakfast and give him a cup of coffee, Sicheng himself didn’t like coffee and instead would drink tea from his yellow thermos. Taeil would never admit it but he thought that the fact that Sicheng drank tea from a yellow thermos every morning might possibly be cutest thing ever.   
“I”ll take the chocolate one” and so Sicheng would smile and lean back and eat the blueberry muffin, and Taeil would fight to urge to look away from the road and look at Sicheng instead.   
While Taeil used to hate waking up every morning for work and would stay in bed for as long as possible he now found himself waking up early and rushing to get ready so that he could see Sicheng quicker. Johnny and Mark had noticed a change in Taeil too.  
“I don’t remember you ever being this happy, not in any of the years I’ve known you” Johnny remarked one day, Mark and Doyoung nodded in agreement. Taeil just shrugged it off, he knew the reason for his sudden mood change and increase in happiness was sitting in the next room but that didn’t mean anyone else had to know. And so Taeil just made an off handed comment about how he’d been getting a lot more clients lately and the conversation was dropped. The drives home from work were filled with laughter, and multiple times Taeil and Sicheng had found themselves sitting at a local restaurant splitting the bill over a bowl of hotpot while laughing over stories about pranks Johnny had pulled on Doyoung. Taeil was always sad when dinner had to end and was especially sad when he dropped Sicheng back off at his apartment, but the thought of seeing Sicheng and his cute yellow thermos the next morning never failed to brighten his mood. 

——

Sicheng had been working at the company for six months now and was quickly becoming one of company’s top salesmen. Taeil also was doing really well and considering that the company didn’t have a cap on commission Taeil found himself with more money than he needed. So Taeil found himself texting Sicheng one Sunday afternoon to see if he wanted to go furniture shopping. Taeil had lived in his apartment for a couple years and he had never decorated it or made it his own, Taeil had never felt the need to nor did he want to. When Taeil first moved in he told himself it was a temporary space and it would be a waste to decorate it because once his career took off he’d have to leave anyway. That never happened. So Taeil really only had the necessities, a mattress, some pillows and blankets, toiletries, a phone charger, and his piano, nothing else. As Taeil waited for a reply he began to wonder how his life had changed so much in six months. He wondered how the person he’d texted the most had changed from the local delivery man at the pizza restaurant 15 minutes away to Sicheng. He wondered why he wanted to suddenly furnish his apartment when he had kept it bare for years. And Taeil knew the answer but he didn’t want to admit it to himself, he couldn’t admit it to himself. The chime of his phone broke Taeil out of his thoughts, and with the simple response of “Sure (:” Taeil found himself rushing out the door to go pick up Sicheng.   
Taeil had never understood the big deal about Ikea, never understood why people loved it so much or why it was so popular. But right now, as Taeil watched Sicheng walking around pushing a big cart with boxes Taeil thought that he could understand what the big deal was. Upon their arrival to Ikea Sicheng had demanded Taeil describe his apartment to him: wall color, room sizes, and what kind of floor he had, Taeil had barely finished before Sicheng had already come up with a color scheme and a style and was bounding away. Taeil loved this. He hated to admit it but he loved the domesticity of going furniture shopping with Sicheng. Taeil loved struggling to keep up with Sicheng as he would excitedly rush down the aisles. Taeil loved debating the prices of furniture with Sicheng and debating what style would look best. Taeil loved the five minute argument they had about what color of wood to buy for his dresser, Taeil didn’t even like the color he was arguing for, he only chose something different so he could talk with Sicheng a little longer. And as Sicheng and Taeil sat down in the food area Taeil realized that maybe Ikea wasn’t so bad after all. Luckily Ikea was able to deliver the stuff they had bought that day and so Taeil found him and Sicheng driving back to his apartment so he could let the delivery guys in. Taeil wouldn’t ever admit it but he was a little sad to leave the store behind.  
“You— really weren’t lying when you said you had nothing in here” observed Sicheng once they reached Taeil’s apartment.   
“I mean that’s why we went to Ikea today…” quipped Taeil. With a lack of response Sicheng turned and walked back to the car in order to grab some more boxes to bring in. Once the couches and bed frame had been delivered Taeil and Sicheng began to work on assembling everything.  
It was 11 O’clock at night and Taeil and Sicheng had finished assembling everything for the bedroom, living room and bathroom and Taeil suggested they finish up everything for the kitchen and office another day. Taeil’s body ached from the work they’d done today and he longed to just curl into his bed and sleep, and it seemed Sicheng had the same idea. Taeil had gone to the bathroom to freshen up and when he came back he found Sicheng laying on the bed, exhausted.  
“You owe me for helping you with all of this” Sicheng remarked from the bed. Taeil found himself walking forward, hesitating for a couple seconds before he decided to climb in next to him.   
“Next couple times we get hotpot I’ll pay” offered Taeil. Sicheng laughed lightly, Taeil was completely enamored. They lie side by side for a while just listening to each other’s breathing, Taeil turns on his side facing Sicheng but not touching him. Sicheng’s shirt had ridden up slightly and before Taeil knew what he was doing he was reaching out and touching the warm exposed skin. Taeil lightly ran his fingers up and down the skin, Sicheng’s breath caught slightly in his throat. Taeil applies a bit more pressure and moves his hands up a bit higher before rolling over to hover over Sicheng. Now it was Taeil’s breath that caught in his throat, him and Sicheng were only mere inches apart. Taeil hesitantly brought up a hand to cup Sicheng’s cheek and rubbed his thumb over soft skin. Taeil and Sicheng simply stared at each other before Taeil began to slowly lean in. Their mouths fit together perfectly, lips slotting against each other and moving languidly. Sicheng’s lips were soft and Taeil completely lost himself in the feeling, he could vaguely register Sicheng’s arms wrapping around his neck before Taeil deepened the kiss. Their lips moved against each other with increasing pressure and Taeil gave a soft bite at Sicheng’s bottom lip, the sharp intake of breath from Sicheng made something snap inside Taeil. Taeil rolled them over so that he was sitting upright and Sicheng was straddling him before continuing the kiss, Taeil’s hands were now grabbing Sicheng’s waist and Sicheng had tangled his hands in Taeil’s hair. Taeil moved away from Sicheng’s lips to drop openmouthed kisses down his neck and jawline, Sicheng had his head thrown back and Taeil pushed away Sicheng’s shirt to expose his collar bone before leaving soft bites over the skin and then licking them away. He’s so beautiful. Sicheng let out a soft whine and Taeil’s hands jerked on his waist dragging him closer. Fuck. Taeil had lost any semblance of self control as he kissed a pattern from Sicheng’s collarbones back to his lips. Fuck. Taeil kissed Sicheng roughly while trying to pour every emotion he had into the kiss. He wanted Sicheng to know that he was in love with him, he wanted Sicheng to know that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him, he wanted Sicheng to love him back and want him back and so Taeil kissed him even harder. I love you. The unspoken words lingered between each kiss, each movement, every breath. God. Taeil hoped Sicheng understood. Taeil needed Sicheng to understand. Taeil’s lips began to go numb, but he just pressed harder, he’s desperate for more. Sicheng pulled away and rests his head on Taeil’s shoulder. Please no. Please don’t pull away. Please don’t regret this.   
“Taeil-” Taeil’s breath caught in his throat. He didn’t think he could bare the words Sicheng was going to say next.  
“We have work tomorrow and it’s late, we should go to bed” Taeil’s heart dropped. He knew that falling in love with someone as perfect as Sicheng would only come back to hurt him later but he had hoped that later was 5 years from now, hell maybe 50, he didn’t want to face the inevitable rejection so soon.  
“Taeil? Taeil did you hear me…? Taeil?” Sichengs looking at Taeil, God he’s so close if Taeil were to just move a couple centimeters forward they would be kissing again—snap out of it  
“Sorry what did you say?” And Taeil’s voice is barely above a whisper and yet it still cracks. It’s obvious that Sicheng noticed it and Taeil just wants to die right there. He’s such an idiot for falling in love with someone so perfect he should’ve known Sicheng would never feel the same.   
“I asked if I could spend the night? I mean I’m sure you don’t feel like driving me back right now and-” Sicheng gets cut off by Taeil’s lips meeting his again. Well, it’s not a total rejection, if he wants to spend the night then he isn’t mad at me right? Right?  
“Yeah I have some extra sweats and some shirts you can borrow” And so Taeil falls asleep holding Sicheng close to him and he can’t remember the last time he slept so good, and when he wakes up the first thing he sees is Sicheng, and nothing in the world could compare.

——

Taeil stares down at the boy sleeping on his chest. It’s 8 A.M and soft sunlight filters through the blinds, they had gone two rounds last night and it had obviously taken a toll on Sicheng. Taeil placed a kiss on Sicheng’s forehead and marveled at the sleeping boy. No matter how many times they had sex, or had kissed, or went on hotpot dates, Taeil still couldn’t believe he got to call Sicheng his. It had been almost a year since Sicheng was first hired, 6 months since they went shopping at Ikea and shared their first kiss, and 4 months since Taeil had officially asked Sicheng to be his boyfriend. Taeil still couldn’t believe it, he didn’t think he could ever believe it. Sicheng’s soft breathing fanned across his chest and Taeil was completely enamored. Taeil still couldn’t believe that this boy had come in out of nowhere and had changed grumpy old Taeil from someone who hated his life into someone who wouldn’t trade his life for the entire world. Sicheng had come in and changed Taeil’s life completely. Taeil still didn’t know how it happened, he didn’t know if he should be scared that Sicheng had become such a big part of his life so quickly. Looking around he noticed multiple pairs of Sicheng’s shoes scattered across the floor, half of his closet was filled with Sicheng’s clothes, Sicheng had wormed his way into Taeil’s life and had made part of Taeil’s life his own. As Taeil glanced around he noticed Sicheng’s yellow thermos placed on the nightstand next to them, the nightstand Sicheng had picked out. Once again Taeil couldn’t help but notice how everything in his life revolved around Sicheng. Come to think of it, Taeil couldn’t even remember the last time Sicheng had been in his own apartment, Taeil made a mental note that he would have to ask Sicheng to move in with him. Being careful not to wake Sicheng Taeil moved the boy off of his chest and carefully stood up. Taeil padded quietly into the living room and sat down at the piano, he brushed the layer of dust off of the keys and for the first time in years, he played.

**Author's Note:**

> Oof, well that was my first fic ever! Basically I've noticed that the Winil tag is super dry and I really love their friendship and thought that they deserved more. Once again I really hope you liked it, please let me know if you have any constructive criticism or notice any grammar mistakes, once again English isn't my first language so I hope any mistakes in my writing weren't too disruptive or to hard to read, I'm hoping to put out more work soon!


End file.
